Apologize

I have to apologize to a few bloggers. Nomads by Nature and The Wandering Drays both submitted blog posts and they didn't make it into the Roundup last week.

Heather at The Wandering Drays didn't blog about kitchens, but rather a very long week (that's now almost over) that she was facing. Jason should be home very, very soon now.

Nomads by Nature didn't post about their kitchen either - but rather about the things that fill them. They did a great post about their process of consumable shipment shopping. There are some great tips in there, check it out!

I really do want to apologize to you guys - please forgive me. And everyone else, check out their entries - they're both very good.

Epiphany

I had an epiphany this morning while I was feeding Coen: I have three kids, two of them are young and very needy and for a time in my life, I have to take care of two very young, needy kids. And even though I'm tired in the morning, when I have a crying toddler and a crying baby and a husband who's not available, I just have to take care of them. No more whining - just do it.

After I realized that there was a lightness added to my life. I feel released from my fears. I don't feel bad about letting one of them wait for a little bit while I take care of the other. The one that's waiting will be o.k. Crying no longer makes me cringe, I hear it and will take care of them as soon as I can.

I really have three great kids, and I was going to add some photos - but I can't get them to upload.

Kitchens

First have to apologize that this is late. I've been having issues with blogger. I'm seriously considering moving to a new blog.

The theme for our roundup this week is kitchens of the Foreign Service. I'll start with mine. Here's an excerpt from a past Roundup post about housing:

Your kitchen will probably be completely closed off and not very large since kitchens are made for housing staff to be in (although depending on rank, you could have quite a sizable kitchen). Your kitchen will have granite counter tops and probably very few drawers, although you may have quite a few cupboards. Warning - you may not have a dishwasher. You will have a water filter installed in your sink, and probably one in your fridge as well (the water here is potable though, and it doesn't taste very bad). Some kitchens I've seen recently have built in stoves, and I've seen quite small ones, you should make sure the size of your oven before bringing baking dishes.

with dining room in the background. We have a swinging door to the
dining room, we wish it had a lock

The door in the background is to the laundry room. 

As far as my kitchen goes, the cupboards might look good in a picture, but some of them are a little crooked, and something about their finish lends to them always looking dirty (even the ones out of reach of the kids). I love having granite, but the color choice makes it really hard to see when and where the counters are dirty. I don't like that it's so closed off, but I do love the size. It's the biggest kitchen we've had since we were in our first house. I wish we had more drawers, but I love the cupboard space. The kitchen has enough space for both John and I to enjoy cooking together, and I LOVE that.

We enjoy our kitchen, but in Manila I'm hoping for more drawers and a pantry.

Kitchens: The Huge, The Average and the Tiny

Donna at Email from the Embassy didn't have time to write up an entry for the roundup, but she did send me a link to an entry that shows her kitchen after her UAB arrived. All I can say is: here I come Amman!

Becky at Small Bits said there wasn't much special about her kitchen except a cupboard that isn't quite kid friendly.

Chelsea at  A Fisher Out of Water shows off a sleek if not somewhat lacking in storage kitchen complete with a homemade rug and table for her daughter.

Sadie at Sadie Abroad surprised me this week with how small her kitchen is. Stepping into her kitchen you'll see some of her favorite things which have to be "stored" on the counter. She's also included quite a list of her favorite kitchen items with links to check them out yourself.

Carla at I Run, You Run compared her past kitchen in Arlington which was just as tiny as one of the kitchens John and I had in Texas to her current kitchen in Manila. While she's gained square footage she hasn't gained very many drawers so she still has to be creative.

James and Sarah Talalay recently blogged about the energy efficient qualities of their home in India, including quite a special drying rack for their dishes. You can find a picture of their kitchen in this entry where they give you a tour of their home. And in THIS entry, you can see how they make pizza in their kid sized oven.

And in other (food related) news:

Like nomads, but with more stuff, wish they had a garden but do go to the rinok to get their in season fruits and veggies.

and finally:

Worldwide Availability is not a big fan of Hello Kitty, but thinks Hello Kitty Town isn't that bad of a place to bring their little one.

Thanks everyone for your submissions and suggestions, and again I apologize for it being late. Next week is going to be hosted by Sadie, the week after that is still open, please go by the State Department Blog Roundup Calendar and sign up.

Trouble

I was having issues with blogger today and couldn't get the roundup done. I'll try very hard to do it tomorrow.

Fun psychology quiz

 I found this past blog post, and thought it would be fun to see how my answers have changed. 

First the questions are listed then my answers to the questions, then the psychology behind it. Answer the questions before you read the psychology.

1. You are not alone. You are walking in the woods. Who is WALKING WITH YOU?

2. You are walking in the woods. You see an animal. What kind of animal?

3. What interaction takes place between you and the animal?

4. You walk deeper in the woods. You enter a clearing, and before you is your dream house, what does it look like?

5. Is your dream house surrounded by a fence?

6. You enter the house. You walk into the dining room and see the dining room table. What do you see on AND around it?

7. You exit the house and a cup is on the ground, what kind is it?

8. What do you do with the cup?

9. You walk to the edge of the property where you find yourself standing at the end of a body of water what kind of water is it?

10. How will you cross the water?

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My answers August 2007

1. You are not alone. You are walking in the woods. Who is WALKING WITH YOU? God

2. You are walking in the woods. You see an animal. What kind of animal? mountain lion

3. What interaction takes place between you and the animal? we stare each other down, i eventually clap my hands loud and scare it away

4. You walk deeper in the woods. You enter a clearing, and before you is your dream house, what does it look like? big colonial style house

5. Is your dream house surrounded by a fence? nope

6. You enter the house. You walk into the dining room and see the dining room table. What do you see on AND around it? thanksgiving dinner - john, malachi, my family, his family, josh and bethany, chris and holly

7. You exit the house and a cup is on the ground, what kind is it? Green plastic Starbucks cup

8. What do you do with the cup? walk by it

9. You walk to the edge of the property where you find yourself standing at the end of a body of water what kind of water is it? lake

10. How will you cross the water? fishing or speed boat 

My answers July 2011:

1. You are not alone. You are walking in the woods. Who is WALKING WITH YOU? John

2. You are walking in the woods. You see an animal. What kind of animal? deer

3. What interaction takes place between you and the animal? stare at each other and it runs away

4. You walk deeper in the woods. You enter a clearing, and before you is your dream house, what does it look like? Big, colonial

5. Is your dream house surrounded by a fence? no

6. You enter the house. You walk into the dining room and see the dining room table. What do you see on AND around it? thanksgiving dinner, family

7. You exit the house and a cup is on the ground, what kind is it? fancy goblet

8. What do you do with the cup? pick it up

9. You walk to the edge of the property where you find yourself standing at the end of a body of water what kind of water is it? ocean

10. How will you cross the water? canoe

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The ANSWERS

1. The person who you are walking in the woods with is the most important to you.


2. The size of the animal is representative of your perception of the size of your problems in your life.


3. The severity of the interaction you have with the animal is representative of how you deal with your problems.


4. The size of your dream home is representative of the size of your ambition to solve your problems.


5. A lack of a fence is indicative of an open personality. People are welcome at all times. The presence of a fence indicates a closed personality. You'd prefer people not drop by unannounced.


6. If your answer did NOT include food, flowers, or people, then you are generally unhappy.


7. The durability of the material with the cup is made of is representative of the perceived durability of your relationships.


8. What you did with the cup is representative of your attitude.


9. The size of the body of water is representative of the size of your sexual desire.


10. The way you cross the water is representative to how easy or hard you expect your life to be.

Roundup Assignment

I signed up to do the Round-up next Friday, the 15th. The optional topic is: Kitchens of the Foreign Service. Show us your good, bad, and ugly. How do your current kitchens compare to your previous kitchens (not just the FS ones)? I can't wait to see pictures. If anyone who is in Manila or was there at some recent time wants to share pictures, I'd love to see those!

Coen had the appointment for his MED clearance on Thursday. He's growing really well. In about two weeks he'd gained 1 lb. 4 oz. According to her measurements he'd shrunken 1/2 a centimeter, but I don't think that's right. He looks longer to me, not shorter. She said he looked really good. I have no doubt that he'll get his class 1 MED clearance.

After that appointment we went to his hearing test. In the States they do this test in the hospital and parents don't see it happening, and have nothing to do with it. You just find out that they passed. The Pediatrician here said that newborns have fluid in their ears and can have false negatives. So she prefers that parents take their child into the clinic at about three weeks old. I took Coen in, and the test was really fast. The person administering the test said that it usually takes about 20 minutes per ear and Coen took about 30 seconds per ear and passed on both sides. He said that Coen was the perfect patient.

On Friday Coen will be 1 month. I can't believe how quickly that went!

The rest of the family is doing well. Today we went to the mall, all five of us. It was raining quite hard when we were ready to go, and we didn't have the umbrellas with us. They were in the car...of course.